Without doubt a well-developed financial sector is related to efficient resource allocation and growth, but there is modest consensus on the direction of that link, on the notion of what is meant by quot;well developedquot;, on which subset of the financial market is crucial and thus which...

In this essay I discuss the debate about the rationale for investor protection in the retail financial sector by means of conduct of business regulation. The two theses I examine have been heavily informed, on the one hand, by the simultaneous debate surrounding the general issue of consumer...

This report summarises the scientific content and results of the European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop on 'Economic Geography and European Finance' held at Jesus College, Oxford University, 16-19 September 2004. The objective of the workshop was to further our understanding of the...

We examine how analysts establish target prices for IPO firms and whether comparable firms used to support target prices are helpful in explaining IPO offer prices. From 1996 to 2000, the average target price is set at a level more than twice the offer price that was established less than a...

This paper analyzes some major developmental issues in the specific areas of the Armenian banking sector (particularly raised by the Armenian authorities) and insurance sector and provides recommendations for addressing those issues. The paper argues that over the past seven years, the Armenian...

Recent high correlations among hedge fund returns could suggest concentrations of risk comparable to those preceding the hedge fund crisis of 1998. A comparison of the current rise in correlations with the elevation before the 1998 event, however, reveals a key difference. The current increase...

Although credit rating agencies have gradually moved away from a policy of never rating a private borrower above the sovereign (the sovereign ceiling) it appears that sovereign ratings remain a significant determinant of the credit rating assigned to corporations. We examine this link using data...